Marble-Topped Tawi Wood Sideboard by Edward Wormley for Dunbar
View Similar Items
Marble-Topped Tawi Wood Sideboard by Edward Wormley for Dunbar
About the Item
- Creator:Edward Wormley (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 30 in (76.2 cm)Width: 73 in (185.42 cm)Depth: 23.25 in (59.06 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1955
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Expertly refinished.
- Seller Location:Dorchester, MA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU837814206212
Edward Wormley
As the longtime director of design for the Dunbar furniture company, Edward Wormley was, along with such peers as George Nelson at Herman Miller Inc., and Florence Knoll of Knoll Inc., one of the leading forces in bringing modern design into American homes in the mid-20th century. Not an axiomatic modernist, Wormley deeply appreciated traditional design, and consequently his work has an understated warmth and a timeless quality that sets it apart from other furnishings of the era.
Wormley was born in rural Illinois and as a teenager took correspondence courses from the New York School of Interior Design. He later attended the Art Institute of Chicago but ran out of money for tuition before he could graduate. Marshall Field hired Wormley in 1930 to design a line of reproduction 18th-century English furniture; the following year he was hired by the Indiana-based Dunbar, where he quickly distinguished himself. It was a good match.
Dunbar was an unusual firm: it did not use automated production systems; its pieces were mostly hand-constructed. For his part, Wormley did not use metal as a major component of furniture; he liked craft elements such as caned seatbacks, tambour drawers, or the woven-wood cabinet fronts seen on his Model 5666 sideboard of 1956. He designed two lines for Dunbar each year — one traditional, one modern — until 1944, by which time the contemporary pieces had become the clear best sellers.
Many of Wormley’s signature pieces — chairs, sofas, tables and more — are modern interpretations of traditional forms. His 1946 Riemerschmid Chair — an example is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art — recapitulates a late 19th-century German design. The long, slender finials of his Model 5580 dining chairs are based on those of Louis XVI chairs; his Listen-to-Me Chaise (1948) has a gentle Rococo curve; the “Precedent” line that Wormley designed for Drexel Furniture in 1947 is a simplified, pared-down take on muscular Georgian furniture. But he could invent new forms, as his Magazine table of 1953, with its bent wood pockets, and his tiered Magazine Tree (1947), both show. And Wormley kept his eye on design currents, creating a series of tables with tops that incorporate tiles and roundels by the great modern ceramicists Otto and Gertrud Natzler.
As the vintage items on 1stDibs demonstrate, Edward Wormley conceived of a subdued sort of modernism, designing furniture that fits into any decorating scheme and does not shout for attention.
- Walnut & Japanese Fir Sideboard by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Dorchester, MAEdward Wormley designed this handsome sideboard, model 671A, for Dunbar in 1953. The case features Japanese fir panels that contrast with the walnut frame. Two top drawers, one of w...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
MaterialsFir, Leather, Maple, Walnut
- Walnut and Mahogany Sideboard, Model 4579, by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Dorchester, MADesigned by Edward Wormley for Dunbar in 1945, this exquisite sideboard, model 4579, appeared in the 1997 exhibition "The Other Face of Modernism." With its bold brass hinges and pul...Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
MaterialsBrass
- Sofa by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Dorchester, MAThis elegant sofa is a classic 1950s design by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. It features a tufted back and a long bench seat resting on tapered walnut fee...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Sofas
MaterialsUpholstery, Walnut
- Mahogany Armchair by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Dorchester, MAEdward Wormley designed this handsome mahogany armchair for Dunbar, juxtaposing modern linearity with curvaceous classic form. It has been expertly reupholstered in Knoll's Rivington...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsMahogany
- Mahogany Armchair by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Dorchester, MAThis stylish mid-century modern armchair, designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar, has strong, clean lines and a comfortable seat. It has been expertly reupholstered in Knoll's Sequin ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsTextile, Upholstery, Mahogany
- Rosewood and Mahogany Roll-Top Desk by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward WormleyLocated in Dorchester, MADesigned in 1957 by Edward Wormley for Dunbar, this handsome mahogany desk features a generous writing surface bookended by two rosewood roll-top doors. Three shallow drawers are tucked below, the center one with small divisions at front. A hinged panel...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Desks
MaterialsBrass
- Edward J. Wormley for Dunbar SideboardBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in St. Louis, MOEdward Wormley for Dunbar for modern 1940s bleached mahogany sideboard, center stepped out, inset oval drawer pulls, center interior with drawers and space to store table pads, end cabinet doors hinged on sides and have curved wood door shelves, on leather plinth base. Original key. To be refinished, custom colors options available. Dunbar quality...Category
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
MaterialsLeather, Mahogany
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Sideboard in MahoganyBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Dallas, TXNot often seen, a fully restored sliding door sideboard by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. The cabinet features four sliding doors with loads of interior storage. The top section has two ...Category
Mid-20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
MaterialsBrass
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar Sideboard, Rare ModelBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Dallas, TXThis is a beautifully restored sideboard by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. The cabinet has plenty of storage and is executed in a rich mahogany with darker banded wood on edges. Cabinets has 4 front doors...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
MaterialsMahogany
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar CabinetBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Denton, TXTwo Edward Wormley cabinets with corrugated wood sliding doors and center drawer section in a grey brown finish Each cabinet is 20" deep by 49" wide by 31.25 high.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
MaterialsMahogany
- Edward Wormley for Dunbar CredenzaBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Denton, TXClassic Edward Wormley for Dunbar mahogany credenza with solid brass hardware. Nine drawers with center cabinet.Category
20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Credenzas
MaterialsBrass
- Edward Wormley Sideboard Model 671 A for Dunbar Custom Order 1953By Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Camden, MEAn Edward Wormley walnut and Japanese fir sideboard , model 671A for Dunbar, circa 1953. A rare exquisite Japanese inspired walnut cabinet with two drawers with cast bronze pulls and...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Sideboards
MaterialsPaper, Walnut